Terrence D. Fitzgerald, Distinguished Professor

SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, B.S., M.S. Oregon State University, Ph.D.

General Ecology

Biology of Insects

Animal Behavior

My research interests concern the behavioral and chemical ecology of social caterpillars.Much of my work has involved tent caterpillars but more recently I have been studying social species occurring in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Spain.I maintain a website on the behavioral ecology of social caterpillars at:http://facultyweb.cortland.edu/~fitzgerald/

I particularly encourage students interested in behavior and ecology to work in my laboratory. Over the summer I usually have several students conducting laboratory and field studies.A number of my technical papers have been co-authored with undergraduates.

Fitzgerald, T.D. and D.L.A. Underwood. 1998. Trail marking by the larva of the Madrone butterfly /Eucheira socialis/ and the role of the trail pheromone in communal foraging behavior. J. Insect Behav. 11:247-263.

Fitzgerald, T. D. 2008. Use of a pheromone mimic to cause the disintegration and collapse of of colonies of tent caterpillars (/Malacosoma/ spp.). J. Applied Entomology 211: 671-677.

Fitzgerald, T.D. A. Pescador-Rubio and G. Isaacs. 2008. Foraging behavior of the social caterpillar /Eutachyptera psidii/ (Sallé) (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) during a prolonged period of food and water deprivation. Ecological Entomology, in press.